Christmas 2011

Jon had to work Christmas this year so our activities landed on several days that didn't really include the actual December 25th day.  Jon had a day off before Christmas since he had to work Christmas day so we took the boys to Sea World.  They had fun riding rides and watching a few of the shows.  They got to go through an area of the park and take pictures with some of the "live characters" Andrew freaked out! He had to be held and then anytime we got near one to walk by he would start crying.  Ben of course took his chance to get a picture with each one, I only posted one. One night I slept under the Christmas tree with Ben.  We let him stay up and watch and movie and then were going to have him come down to sleep under the tree.  He fell asleep while watching the movie, so we carried him down to the floor.  He was pretty excited about it though in the morning.  On Christmas Eve, then Hansen's with the Coomb's and Bahr's invited us over for dinner and the Nativity.  Ben got to be a Shepard. They later had a talent show and Ben wanted to take pictures.  He was camera happy, but he got a good picture of Andrew and I.  We did our actual Christmas on the 26th since Jon worked Christmas day.  It was good that the kids didn't understand.  Even if they did I don't think they would have cared.  This year I was pretty crafty.  I made the boys pajamas.  They each had their initial on their shirt with a Santa hat.  I also made Benjamin and Andrew a cape.  They keep having me tie their blankets around their necks to make a cape so I made them one that they would be able to put on themselves.  They were a big hit!  Ben's was yellow and black with a lightening bolt and Andrews was red and black with a star on the back.  I was pretty proud of myself.  We'll see if other Christmas' will turn out this way.

 

November Randoms 2011

Not much exciting happened this month.  Jon had to work on Thanksgiving so we didn't really celebrate it.  However, I did a photo shoot with the boys to try and get ready for the annual Christmas pictures we send out to the Grandparents.  It seems to be harder every time, and now since we have added a third child sometimes we don't always get a perfect picture.  I guess it just shows their personalities.  Here are pictures of the three boys, poor Samuel doesn't know what to think about what's going on.

 Here are some of the shots I got of Benjamin.  I am so sad because he use to be so photogenic and now he's very difficult to shoot.  He just wants to play around and when I try to get him to smile he does this weird cheese face.  Sometimes the best shots of him are when he's looking off in the distance or barely smiling.

 

Andrew is really fun to shoot.  He loves having his picture taken.  He took use to have a great natural smile and then he started this "cheese" thing and scrunches up his nose when he does it.  But I usually can get more good shots of him.

 

It was fun trying to get a good shot of Samuel.  He is such a cute little boy.  I just love all that hair!

For Andrew's birthday he got a trampoline.  Jon and Grandpa Van set it up in our piano room because it was cooled outside.  So it is now sitting there and who knows how long it will be there until Jon finally takes it outside.  I told him they had to do it before Mom and Van left, did that happen, No! So now the boys enjoy jumping on it in the house. 

 

 

George Washington

Benjamin loves school and is learning lots. Last week he learned about George Washington. He came home and kept talking about him and even tried to dress up like him by putting a cape on and then getting the extension to vacuum cleaner making a bayonet out of it. Well, today he extended the role play. I was on the phone talking to Jon when Ben came in telling me that he need my help in getting something. I couldn't understand what he was wanting so I got off the phone and followed him outside. When I stepped out this is what I saw:

[Picture to come soon]

I tried to stay as calm as I could as I asked, "WHO CUT THE TREE!!!" Ben went instantly quiet, which I knew that for sure it was him. He then tried to blame Andrew. I asked Ben where the clippers were and he pointed to the roof of the porch. I could see them sticking out of the rain gutter. I asked who threw them up there and he instantly said Andrew, which I believe because he's got quite the throw and if Ben was using them he may have wanted to try and take them away and throw them so Ben couldn't get them. Anyway, it took awhile to get it out of Ben that he was the one who trimmed the tree. He didn't want to get into trouble so he was trying not to admit it, but then with a threat of putting soap in his mouth for lying he finally told the truth. I didn't know what to do so I made him pick up the trimmings, but in his pajama's and then sit on his bed until Jon came home. I wasn't sure what Jon's reaction would be so I didn't know if I should extend the punishment and what with. I was a little surprised when he came home and laughed about it. We couldn't think of any further punishment for Ben. I think I handled it well, especially when he was recently told by both Jon and I not to use the clippers or clip anything. Is this normal for little boys?

Halloween

Halloween of course dragged over a couple of days and weeks with activities. We did the annual shows and trick-or-treating at Sea World. And of course, the Ward activities with the Trunk-or-Treating. The young women put on a Carnival to raise money for girls camp. They had a dessert auction and games for the kids to play. The boys had fun playing the little games and getting treats and then of course collecting candy from the other members of the ward. We also went to a local place which I had a groupon for. They had a hay ride, train ride, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, pony rides, food, bounce houses. Unfortunately we went on a day that was very windy and cold so most of the stuff wasn't running. I thought it was a total bust, but the boys of course loved it. For costumes this year, we recycled the Monkey costume for Andrew. It went in them with his monkey birthday. And this year for Ben we asked him what he wanted to be. He said a ROBOT! After hours of looking for a robot costume, which were really expensive, we decided to make our own. So I did some research and this is what we came up with. He got many compliments on it and many said it was the best one there. It was a little difficult to do some things with it, but he got his point across and then took it off. It was a little hard for me to let him have an opinion about his costume, but we worked together and came up with a great thing.

Andrew Enters the Terrible Two's

Andrew turned 2 this month. Grandma and Grandpa Christensen were in town but were leaving on his actual birthday so we celebrated it on the Saturday. Jon made a good point once that when the kids open their presents at night then if there is assembly required they usually don't get to play with their toys. So we had breakfast, I made Monkey bread, and then we opened presents. He got a fun car garage from Grandma and Grandpa Andreas, which he loves. We got him a Mickey Mouse since he loved playing with Ben's and then instead of having a party we got him a small trampoline. He loves to jump and now he can have somewhere to jump other then his bed or the couch. Later that night we actually had people over to bless Samuel, so we also had cake with a few of Andrew's friends and their families. I have a friend, Krista Faulkner, who is amazingly talented. I saw on her blog that she made this cool Monkey cake. I just had to copy. Her's is cuter of course, she has a nifty machine to help her out, but I was pleased with the way Andrew's cake turned out. He loved it too. I think he had seconds and maybe thirds. When it was time to blow out the candles he knew exactly what to do. I had Jon relight them so I could get a picture because he was too fast with his blowing. We love having Andrew in our family. He is a joy and quiet the boy. He is so adventurous. If any of our children will be spending time in the ER, I think it will be him. He seems to have no fear and is willing to try anything Ben is doing and beyond. He is a very happy child. You can just look at him and he will smile at you a great big grin. He's a big solid boy. He's bigger then most of his little friends, and younger then them. I'm sure they'll catch up. He loves books. I love that he wants to sit and read a book with me every now and then. He can easily entertain himself, which is great. He loves his brothers. He loves to come up and give Samuel a kiss every now and then. He is in speech, which is slowly coming along. He understands us perfectly, and most things we can understand what he wants when he points, but there are times I could guess 100 things and still not know what he wants. He makes this noise...I just need to get that on video so I can show it to him one day. He loves music. Every time we get into the car he points to the CD player and makes his noise. We are so grateful to have him in our family. He is a wonderful addition and we love him. Happy 2nd Birthday Andrew!

Randoms - October 2011

 With the birth of Samuel we had a few visitors and lots of pictures taken.  After Samuel was born we went up to Austin to pick up Grandma since Grandpa was able to drive her down with a load.  The boys of course loved seeing the truck and getting to play in it.  While picking Grandma up Andrew of course was trying to be independent and get out of our car by himself and fell and hit his head on the ground.  He gets so many scrapes and bruises.

Oh how our family has grown.  I'm not quiet sure how I am going to be able to handle three boys.  Sometimes I wonder to myself, "What have I done!"
Benjamin and Andrew seem to really love having Samuel around.  They are constantly asking to hold him and kiss him and sometimes even fight over him.  It's actually ridiculous how once Ben asks to hold him that Andrew will starting screaming and shouting "NO, I want to hold him!" I wasn't really expecting them to fight over him.  However, I am glad that they both like him and aren't hurting him.

When Grandpa came to pick up Grandma he got to stay a few days.  We took them down to the Alamo since Grandpa had never been.  They boys enjoyed playing in the garden area and of course I saw it as the perfect place for pictures. 

The boys have been pretty good since Samuel has been born.  They are pretty good about keeping themselves occupied since Samuel is mostly eating, sleeping, and pooping.  One day I went to go see what they were doing and here is what I found:
Andrew is so funny.  He would follow Grandma around and play around her.  She was of course entertained by him and took lots of pictures.  Also, one night she went in to check on Ben and found his pajama bottoms around his head.  I wonder sometimes what he does when he goes to bed right before he falls asleep.
As always, with a new baby, lots of pictures were taken.  Samuel is such a sweet baby and we love having him.  I think since I decided not to breast feed I have been feeling a lot better and less tired.  He goes a little longer at night sleeping and Grandma also gets up sometimes to feed him.  It's going well so far. He also has so much hair that he really does look like his own person, instead of looking like Benjamin and Andrew.